Dubai [UAE], May 9 (ANI/WAM): The annual Meridian Forum for Space Diplomacy, held in the US capital, Washington, presented the first annual award for global leadership in the field of space diplomacy to His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the United States of America, in honor and recognition of the country’s efforts and celebrating its achievements in the field. outer space.
Alia Al Suwaidi, Deputy Head of the UAE Mission in Washington, DC, received the award on behalf of His Excellency, and gave a speech on this occasion in which she said: This award comes in appreciation of the great efforts made by all employees of the Emirates Space Agency and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, to launch the first spacecraft manufactured in… The UAE sent two Emirati astronauts to the International Space Station, and the UAE reached Mars orbit as the fifth country to achieve this achievement. In this regard, we express our appreciation to the United States and our other partners in the world who contributed to achieving these achievements.
She added: Emirati-American relations have flourished in the field of space over the past decade, and today the UAE is cooperating with the American Space Agency (NASA) in the field of training astronauts and in carrying out many tasks in the space sector. The UAE recently announced that it is in the process of manufacturing an air-sealing chamber. For the “Gateway” station, which is being developed by NASA as the first lunar space station, the country’s partnerships with American research institutions have also contributed to the achievement of many achievements carried out by the Emirati space program, including the “Hope Probe” mission to explore Mars, as well as in the upcoming space mission that aims to reach The asteroid belt within the solar system (extending between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars).
His Excellency Ambassador Stuart Holliday, Chief Executive Officer of the Meridian International Centre, spoke during the award ceremony, expressing his appreciation for the UAE’s achievements in the field of space, which he described as great given the modernity of the UAE’s space programme.
It should be noted that the Meridian Forum for Space Diplomacy, which was held this year in conjunction with the “Space Diplomacy Week” held by the US State Department, in the presence of the most important workers and those interested in the field of space in the world, including diplomats, officials in space agencies, and executives in the private sector, aims to Searching for strategic plans and innovative means of cooperation in the field of space exploration and arriving at principles of responsible professional behavior in the field of space. (ANI/WAM)
